Contractors Indicted For Repair Fraud

Eight home repair contractors were indicted Wednesday on charges of defrauding customers, many of them elderly, out of sums ranging from $400 to $32,180.

The unrelated indictments were returned by a Cook County grand jury after an investigation by the Illinois attorney general`s office.

Seven of the contractors were accused of defrauding people age 60 or older and were charged with aggravated home repair fraud.

Among those indicted were Ronald Reynolds and Richard Zak, accused of taking $30,000 from a Northwest Side church to build a garage but who never did any work, according to Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan.

Subcontractors did preliminary work but allegedly weren`t paid by Reynolds and Zak, officials said.

Reynolds and Zak, who have done business as Father & Son Construction Co., 301 Touhy Ave., Park Ridge, were each charged with six counts of aggravated home repair fraud and nine counts of home repair fraud, Hartigan said.

Another contractor, Stanley Zalewski, failed to do any work after taking a $10,000 down payment from an elderly couple planning to remodel their home as an anniversary present to each other, according to an indictment.

Zalewski, who has done business as Stan Construction, 5249 W. Melrose St., was charged with three counts of aggravated home repair fraud, according to the indictment.

Others indicted Wednesday, according to officials, were:

- Fred Conk, who has done business as F.C. Home Improvement, 7259 S. Campbell Ave., charged with three counts of aggravated home repair fraud.

- Donald Carver and Thomas Sullivan, who have done business as Conklin Roofing and Weather King, each charged with three counts of aggravated home repair fraud and three counts of home repair fraud.

- Evan Kelly, who has done business as Citation Asphalt and Seal Coat Corp., 8827 Ogden Ave., Brookfield, charged with three counts of aggravated home repair fraud.

- Chuck Best who has done business as Best Kitchens, 3701 Berdnick St., Rolling Meadows, charged with two counts of misdemeanor home repair fraud and and two counts of felony theft.

None of the eight was in custody by Wednesday evening, according to a spokesman for Hartigan.

The maximum punishment for aggravated home repair fraud is seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

The victims were residents of Chicago, Oak Park, Forest Park, Melrose Park and Clarendon Hills who paid amounts ranging from $300 to $15,000 for work that either was not performed or that was left incomplete, officials said.